Del Piero says Farina's first job is lifting player morale

Date: December 01 2012

Dominic Bossi

THE arrival of Frank Farina will be the dawn of a new era for a ''frustrated'' Alessandro Del Piero. The former Juventus captain has never played for a club at the bottom of a league table or endured a four-game losing streak.

However, he is not panicking. The Sky Blues have lost six of their first eight games of the season, and have conceded 22 goals, but Del Piero is hoping the worst is over now the club seems to have found some stability, at least until the end of the season.

Sydney failed to pick up a point during the short tenure of interim coach Steve Corica, and Del Piero is hoping Farina can change the mentality in the dressing room.

''A lot of frustration. I've never lost three in a row in my life, imagine what I feel now?'' Del Piero said. ''It doesn't matter, it's a new era for me, new country, new everything. In every situation you can learn something. I hope to … learn something and keep more energy for the next game and more focus.''

The man known as ''the little artist'' has thrown his support behind the new Sydney FC coach, and said the problems within the camp were not as dire as they might seem. Del Piero said the structure and system of play remained strong points but there is an urgent need for Farina to prevent morale from falling lower.

''We lose a lot of games at the moment but the team don't lose the passion for this work. This is the most important thing that comes out about this period,'' Del Piero said. ''We try to keep our energy now, for sure it's down at the moment but we need to use all of this and try to do our best. This is the most important thing. Probably the only important thing at the moment. The rest come with work with the new coach.''

Del Piero remembers Farina as a player during the Australian's stint in Italy with Bari. Farina only played eight games in Serie A in the 1991-92 season before being loaned out to Notts County but left a lasting impression as the first Australian to play in what was then Europe's best league.

''Yeah, I know that, not like a coach, like a player. Everybody remembers him in Italy, he spent a great time in Italy,'' Del Piero said. ''Doesn't matter what I remember, most important thing is what we will do with him tomorrow, Sunday and the rest of the season.''

Finals hopes are still within close reach for the Sky Blues, who are only four points adrift of sixth place with 19 games to play. But Del Piero insists the team must focus on the small details of their game before daring to dream about playing finals football.

''We don't have to think about the final, we have to think about the road to go to the final and start tomorrow with the training, start Sunday and day by day. We are not in [that] situation [that's] clear; [we are] relaxed for thinking and make program for the next two or three months. We have to think about our short[-term] future and step by step building.''

Farina is unlikely to make a major tactical change for Sunday's match against Melbourne Heart but could be sitting on the bench at Allianz Stadium, less than two days after arriving back in Australia. Corica has been in contact with Farina since his appointment, and has been instructed to keep the same system from previous weeks.

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